Witness appeal following major crash on M6

Police investigating a serious crash on the M6 earlier this week are appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

The collision happened shortly after 6am on Monday March 7 when a milk tanker was travelling south in lane two of the M6 between junctions 35 and 34.

As it approached the end of a queue of stationary traffic it collided with the rear of an articulated lorry. The lorry then shunted forward, causing it to collide with the rear offside of a tipper HGV.

The milk tanker jack-knifed and collided with the central reservation, causing debris to fall on to the northbound carriageway which in turn collided with a BMW saloon car, causing minor damage.

The milk tanker leaked both fuel and milk out onto the carriageway and the articulated lorry shed its load of wooden floor panels.

The driver of the milk tanker, a 56-year-old man, suffered serious injuries to his neck, spine, pelvis and legs and was airlifted to Royal Preston Hospital where he remains in a stable condition.

The driver of the articulated lorry, a 50-year-old man, suffered whiplash and cuts and bruises to his face and body.

The M6 southbound was closed for 21 hours for a full examination of the scene, recovery of the vehicles and the clean-up operation, which included resurfacing the carriageway. It reopened at 3am on Tuesday 8 March.

PS Tracey Ward from the Road Policing Unit said: “This was a serious collision which left one man with serious injuries and he faces a long road to recovery. Although the motorway has been reopened our investigation to establish exactly how this major collision occurred is still on-going. I would urge anyone who witnessed what happened or has any information that could assist with our investigation and has not yet spoken to us to get in touch as soon as possible.”